David Benton wrote:Voters (generally older) tend to like trains. They may never ride them, but they don't like to hear they are losing their train service. Many voters, in a place like Houston , may not know or care that Amtrak service is available. But you can safely say most people in a small town will know if there is Amtrak service. And rural people will tend to fight for the loss of any service.

I tend to agree with your thoughts here. Amtrak is relatively cheap in the grand scheme of things but the voter doesn't know that. It looks good for a congressman to save the train for what is a tiny cost in the grand scheme of things.

That said, imagine the possibilities of this scenario: Completely wipe the Sunset. Run 2x/day to Dallas and 2x/day to San Antonio. How much more useful is that than a 3x/week train to nowhere? Although I tend to favor this second scenario, I enjoy the long distance trains as well during my touristy times. My point is that I don't think anybody ever sits down and looks at the big picture. It's just a dogmatic "lets save what we had in 1971 which was simply a pruned 1951 route system" attitude. What other business runs their 1951 model?

David Benton wrote:Voters (generally older) tend to like trains. They may never ride them, but they don't like to hear they are losing their train service. Many voters, in a place like Houston , may not know or care that Amtrak service is available. But you can safely say most people in a small town will know if there is Amtrak service. And rural people will tend to fight for the loss of any service.

Actually, I believe the demographics are showing that younger folks are liking trains more and more. Between intercity service and Uber, many are forgoing car ownership.

Greg Moore wrote:Actually, I believe the demographics are showing that younger folks are liking trains more and more. Between intercity service and Uber, many are forgoing car ownership.

Where infrastructure allows, yes, and where the “millennial” ethos is welcome. I don’t think that’s the case in many rural communities, where young people still are expected and expect to have single-family dwellings and a car-based economy. Out in rural America the primary support for Amtrak still lies with the older and mobility-challenged riders, and more the opposite in the cities.

Now Amtrak is starting to piss me off. What the hell is wrong with them? This has to stop. Something has to change and if it really is Anderson that's ordering all of this alienating crap then he has to go.

David Benton wrote:Voters (generally older) tend to like trains. They may never ride them, but they don't like to hear they are losing their train service. Many voters, in a place like Houston , may not know or care that Amtrak service is available. But you can safely say most people in a small town will know if there is Amtrak service. And rural people will tend to fight for the loss of any service.

Actually, I believe the demographics are showing that younger folks are liking trains more and more. Between intercity service and Uber, many are forgoing car ownership.

Yes they are. Here, it is no longer a rite of passage to get your drivers license as soon as your old enough. It has come to be a problem, with young job seekers, so much so the Govt is paying for them to sit the driving test. My question is more, will they vote in the same %'s as older voters.

The Marines should contact CSX & NS. (Amtrak does not own the tracks) In Middlesex and Monmouth Counties in central NJ Conrail Shared Assets run a Santa Train every year with one each CSX and NS engine and a Santa caboose out of Browns Yard. They do not distribute toys, just Santa photo ops at different stops. But this yearly effort shows that CSX and NS may not be adverse to helping the Marines.

Now Amtrak is starting to piss me off. What the hell is wrong with them? This has to stop. Something has to change and if it really is Anderson that's ordering all of this alienating crap then he has to go.

You guys are killing me. This is just such a bunch of foamer BS. Do you see the post office, Greyhound, Peter Pan, CSX, YRC, United Airlines, Delta, et al... anybody else in the transport business providing such service? Where is all the anger about their lack of goodwill?

Right now Amtrak can't shoot straight. They have a very hard time running trains on time, often because the equipment is antiquated and infrastructure out of date, and things fail. How the heck does running a toys train do anything but cause more problems when they can't run the core of the business right?

Now Amtrak is starting to piss me off. What the hell is wrong with them? This has to stop. Something has to change and if it really is Anderson that's ordering all of this alienating crap then he has to go.

You guys are killing me. This is just such a bunch of foamer BS. Do you see the post office, Greyhound, Peter Pan, CSX, YRC, United Airlines, Delta, et al... anybody else in the transport business providing such service? Where is all the anger about their lack of goodwill?

Right now Amtrak can't shoot straight. They have a very hard time running trains on time, often because the equipment is antiquated and infrastructure out of date, and things fail. How the heck does running a toys train do anything but cause more problems when they can't run the core of the business right?

More than just toys are on that train. It also included donated goods for those less fortunate, including winter coats and gloves. It provides a way for the underprivileged to celebrate the holiday season and be able to get materials to keep their families alive and healthy.

While I agree that Amtrak is up to its neck in issues, this didn’t help anything. Sure, they’re saving some money by not running the train and using equipment elsewhere. But that’s pretty much canceled out by the negative PR that’ll come from it.

At the very least, the reasoning could’ve been worded in such a way that didn’t make Amtrak seem so aloof.

By the way: Delta does do goodwill things. I believe they have employees who help out Habitat for Humanity every year. NS donates money to first responders and their organizations on their system. Goodwill isn’t just an Amtrak thing

The Toys for Tots train does anger me. Every major airline does charity. I always see United talking about how they offer charity flights.

I understand Amtrak may not want to ferry people around in private cars, or delay their trains to add and remove cars at stations along routes. I even understand that there are some tough choices to be made about if it's cost effective to maintain the Raton Pass for 2 trains a day and that the whole food service program needs to be looked at.

But come on, saying that a time-honored charitable tradition of helping children and families is "no longer part of your business model" is a really dumb thing to say. If I was a Senator from one of those states, I might be rethinking my support for Amtrak.

Now Amtrak is starting to piss me off. What the hell is wrong with them? This has to stop. Something has to change and if it really is Anderson that's ordering all of this alienating crap then he has to go.

You guys are killing me. This is just such a bunch of foamer BS. Do you see the post office, Greyhound, Peter Pan, CSX, YRC, United Airlines, Delta, et al... anybody else in the transport business providing such service? Where is all the anger about their lack of goodwill?

Right now Amtrak can't shoot straight. They have a very hard time running trains on time, often because the equipment is antiquated and infrastructure out of date, and things fail. How the heck does running a toys train do anything but cause more problems when they can't run the core of the business right?

Interesting how you include both government and private services there, but the answer is yes, I have seen them do similar.